Not So Different
by AkaiChaos
Summary: Set in S3 after FBM. Zuko fights for acceptance from the Gaang and really starts to feel the heat as Katara gets moodier. But when a miscalculation allows Azula to separate the Gaang, will Zuko and Katara be able to work together to get back to Aang?
1. The Enemy

**Not So Different**

**AkaiChaos**

**Summary: Set in S3 after FBM. Zuko fights for acceptance from the Gaang and really starts to feel the heat as Katara gets moodier. But when a miscalculation allows Azula to separate the Gaang, will Zuko and Katara be able to work together to get back to Aang?**

**Disclaimer: ATLA is the property of VIACOM and Nickelodeon. No profit is made by this story.**

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><p>Katara was having trouble sleeping that night, although if she was being truthful she hadn't been sleeping well for awhile. <em>Not since he came, <em>she thought as she rolled over. But honestly, how could she be expected to sleep with that _monster_ just down the hall. She blew out a sigh as she got up. If she was going to be up she might as well be useful. The last few nights she had stood guard in front of Aang's room, just in case.

She left her shoes off so she could move more stealthily. Her water pouch wasn't necessary either. This temple had so many canals running beside the hallways that she was never far from water. She stepped out into the hallway quietly and sat down near Aang's room.

She sat there for a while, just staring at the wall. She couldn't relax with Zuko here and no one seemed to understand why. After Zuko started teaching Aang how to firebend they just accepted him like a long lost family member. _He will never be family._

Footsteps echoed down the hall and she jumped up into a fighting stance, pulling water up from the ground.

"Relax Sweetness, It's just me," Toph said as she turned the corner. "I know you've been coming here lately."

"Can't sleep," Katara sighed as she slid down the wall to the floor.

"Well you're not lying but that's not the only reason is it?" Toph plopped down on the floor across from Katara.

Katara tried to ignore her.

"You still don't trust him do you?" Toph said.

"Why should I?" she muttered. "Just because he's teaching Aang doesn't mean he's good. It just means he's gotten better at pretending." She wrapped her arms around her legs.

"I would know if he was lying. He's not!" Katara had heard this all before, she couldn't hear it again. She stood up and turned away from Toph, walking back to her room. She heard Toph shout just before Katara shut her door "You're just being stubborn."

Katara didn't so much as wake up that morning as she did just leave her room. She waited an hour after Toph went to sleep before leaving to the kitchen. She didn't want to run into Toph again. Toph just didn't understand. _She wasn't there when he betrayed me—us. Not me but Aang, everyone. He betrayed us _all_ at Ba Sing Se._

She stepped into the kitchen Toph had set up for her. She had used earthbending to make countertops and cupboards that aligned the left wall. She even put in a bar separating the cooking area from the dining room. The room opened up into a large balcony that had its own fountain in the middle. There were fifteen buildings total hanging off the cliff top. They were joined together by multiple bridges and each building had at least three floors. In short the temple was massive. They had been here for a week now and they still hadn't explored everything. Katara barely ever ventured outside the main building everyone slept in. It was in the center with five stories instead of three. That had all the bedrooms, the kitchen, the room Katara used for laundry, and two bathing rooms.

Katara had been hoping to start off the day with some organized cleaning but was thrown off by a dull glowing light on the balcony next to the kitchen. She stopped moving to keep from making any noise. It was still dark out but the lighter colors of dawn were beginning stretch across the little bit of sky that was visible from the temple. She could see a small fire burning behind the silhouette of a man sitting on the floor. _Zuko_.

He must have got his flame back, which she supposed was good for Aang's sake but she had secretly rejoiced in his poor luck. It served him right to lose his bending. He didn't deserve this gift. Then again, no firebender deserved to bend. Katara stood there silently for a moment, watching Zuko meditate. The flame grew slightly as he exhaled and softened on the inhale. She was relaxing slightly just by watching him but then she remembered who he was.

Just as her familiar hatred settled back she saw him twitch. He turned around and stared at her blankly.

"Do you mind?" He asked sarcastically.

She looked around hastily for an excuse and found a gurgling fountain in between the kitchen and the balcony. She smiled deviously. "No, just up for some early morning cleaning." She moved to a waterbending stance and flew a stream of water at Zuko. He rolled with the water and then moved to his feet. His stance was rigid, he looked like he wanted to hit something. No, he looked like he wanted to hit her, but instead he blew out a small puff of fire and walked past her, out of the kitchen. She could see the water vapor off him as he turned out of sight.

Her morning was considerably better after Zuko left her alone and when she saw he didn't return for breakfast she was practically bouncing. She had served everyone's porridge and sat down to her own warm bowl when Aang noticed his newest teacher was missing.

"Where's Zuko? He usually gets up at dawn." Sokka glanced around quickly before shrugging and turning his attention to his breakfast.

"He's probably out burning some helpless village for sport," Katara scoffed as she spooned in a mouthful. Aang gave her a reproving look but didn't say anything.

"Maybe Katara pushed him off the balcony," Toph added helpfully.

Sokka roared with laughter.

"Stop it, Katara wouldn't do that." Aang said.

"Not that it would matter." Katara mumbled, "Zuko _always_ comes back."

And he did too. Just as everyone had finished eating he stepped into their kitchen area.

"Ready Aang?" He asked as he leaned up against a pillar.

"You missed breakfast." Katara said matter of fact.

"I didn't think I was invited." He said dryly.

"Of course you were invited, Zuko. We always eat breakfast together." Aang stood up and turned to Zuko. Aang saw him looking at Katara and turned to her, "Right Katara?"

"Of course," Katara feigned surprise and then glared at Zuko. "Why wouldn't he be welcome to join us? In fact why don't we invite Azula and Daddy over too? Then the whole family can come." She stood up, causing her chair to fall backwards, and strode out of the room.

"Katara, wait!" Aang started to go after her but Sokka stopped him.

"Let her cool off, Aang." He turned to Zuko, "Look Zuko, don't worry about her, she's just having trouble adjusting. She'll come around eventually."

Toph scoffed, "Yeah, _eventually."_

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><p>Zuko was not surprised to see Aang pick up the firebending so quickly. He had imagined Aang would learn the way Azula had, mastering techniques after only seeing them once or twice. Zuko remembered when he was young and training constantly to master the new forms. Before anyone knew Azula could firebend, she walked onto the training yard and watched Zuko's lesson as she had before, then without any warning she stood up and administered the technique perfectly, on her first try.<p>

He had always been jealous of her power as well as Aang's in the beginning. When Zuko had first started chasing after Aang he found that Aang reminded him too much of his sister. But he didn't hold any grudges against Aang for learning so quickly. Aang needed to learn fast, or they weren't going to defeat the Fire Lord on time.

"Remember, fire comes from the breath, not your strength. And widen your stance."

Aang blew out a sigh as he did what Zuko instructed and then repeated the form. "How was that?"

"Good."

The boy smiled, he was obviously proud of himself. Zuko was about to tell him to do it again when part of the balcony above them crashed down. Zuko rolled to the side while Aang used his airbending to push himself backwards. Both of them where ready to attack as the dust settled around them.

"Hey Zuko," Toph said as she stepped down from her platform. "I'm hungry."

Zuko's eyebrows rose. "Then go get something to eat. You don't have to interrupt our training for that."

"You destroyed part of an ancient and holy building!" Aang stood, mouth agape, and stared at what was left of the old balcony.

"Relax Twinkletoes! What is all this made out of anyways? Rocks, clay? It's all earth."

She spread her legs apart and after a deep breath, began stomping her feet into the ground. She moved around a bit, like she was dancing, but every time her foot it the ground a huge chunk of rock would fly into the air. She moved her hands up as if she was carrying something heavy and all the little pebbles went up as well. She held them in the air while she took another deep breath and then slid into a deeper stance. When she moved her arms down and extended them quickly away from her, all the rocks came together again. She moved it up to where it was supposed to connect to the rest of the temple and then brought her hands down.

"There see? All new. Now back to more important things. Like my stomach."

"Maybe Katara can get you something to eat," Aang suggested absent-mindedly as he examined the new balcony.

"No way am I going to the Sugar Queen. I can still feel her angry walking downstairs. All that stomping around is giving me a headache."

"I can go gather some fruit for you."

"No," Toph grinned deviously. "I want Sparky to find me something to eat. It's part of my pay back for burning my feet."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. He just couldn't deny her what she wanted. After all he _did_ burn her and he knew he would have to make it up to her. "Oh okay," he sighed again. "What do you want?"

"Something sweet."

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><p>Katara stomped around her small room before finally submitting to her tired feet. She sighed as she flopped back on her bed. She hated feeling so angry all the time, but she just couldn't help it. It was too hard to think about anything else but the anger inside her with Zuko around. Not only had she been having a bad week but in a few days she knew it was going to get worse. In a few days it would be the day her mother died.<p>

Tears started to come to her eyes but she shook them away. She couldn't think about that right now. She could tell it was going to be worse than the other years. There was too much stress going on. Her father was a prisoner, she was thousands of miles from Gran-Gran, and to top all that, one of the people she hated most in this world was sleeping just down the hall from her.

The fact that she hadn't slept in so long certainly didn't help either. She had probably gotten a total to four hours in the last week, even less before that, what with all the stress from the Day of Black Sun. Despite herself, Katara started crying. She wouldn't let herself cry full on. That was too weak. Waterbenders didn't cry. They were stronger than that. _She_ was stronger than that. But even with her fighting she could feel a steady stream of tears escape her eyes.

A warm breeze came in through the window. It was cooler than it had been, though still incredibly warm. It was just warm enough to make her sleepy without making it uncomfortable. Katara had just started to slip away when a large explosion shook her from her bed.

She rolled off ungracefully but bounced up quickly and started to sprint down the hall. It sounded like it had come from upstairs. She prayed that Aang would be safe while she pulled some water out of one of the troughs. She ran straight into the dust cloud that covered the balcony.

"What's happened?" She shouted when she recognized Haru and Sokka. As the smoke cleared she saw The Duke and Teo as well. It didn't take her long to put the details together.

Haru coughed as he waved the smoke away from him face, "We had a problem with the explosive peanuts."

"You're making explosives?" She dropped her water and moved towards the smaller children to see if anyone was hurt. She glanced at the explosion spot and saw a piece of her once nice cooking pot. "My pot!" Sokka ducked his head behind Haru. "Sokka! What happened to my pot?"

"Well we needed something to mix the peanuts in."

"This was my only large pot! How am I supposed to cook now? It's completely ruined," she could hear her voice was very near shrieking, but she couldn't tone her furry down.

"It would have been fine if it hadn't exploded," he rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding Katara's glare.

"But it did explode didn't it! Not only are you endangering everyone here, but you're destroying my cookware too," she turned to Haru, who immediately shrunk away. She stopped and looked at the others in the group, all were avoiding her gaze with shoulders slumped. They were afraid of her. It was then she realized that regardless of how needed she was to all of them, none of them wanted her here. She absent-mindedly picked up the remains of her pan and left the room.

After mindlessly wandering the temples for a while, she decided to start cleaning something. When she focused on her chores, she didn't think so much about her current situation. She decided to start on lunch, making a mental innovatory as she went. After going through what storages of food they had left she realized it was not a lot. They would either have to go hunting soon, or go into the town and buy food. She preferred the latter. After all it was hard to cook with just meat. They still had some money left over from the heist her and Toph had pulled off. Well tried to pull off anyways. She knew deep down that part of her motivation was to get out of the temple more than the actual need for food. Although they _did_ need it, Katara was anxious to keep busy and there never seemed to be enough to do in the temple.

The boys all came around the table Toph had made for the kitchen and started sitting down, waiting for her to finish all the work. Sokka was arguing with Haru over which weapons would be best to accompany which bending skill. Aang flew into the room from the balcony with a small bag with him, shortly after Zuko followed on foot with a similar bag. Katara felt her jaw tighten at the sight of Zuko. A part of her had been angry when he didn't show up for breakfast this morning. Another, much stronger part was angry that he would come to eat now.

"We have moon-peaches everyone!" Aang announced as he opened his bag. Zuko started cutting one of the peaches in to pieces and handing them to Toph.

"It's about time!" Toph began shoving her mouth full of peach slices. "I thought I was gonna starve waiting for Sweetness to finish up lunch."

The other kids gathered around to collect their own peach. Aang came over to Katara with her peach, "Here you go Katara, this one is for you."

She looked up from the cooking food for a minute to smile at the young monk. "That's okay, Aang. Why don't you eat it?"

His face fell at the small rejection, "but…"

"If you won't eat it, I will," Toph shouted as she swallowed her last piece.

"But this one is for Katara."

"We have plenty extra," Zuko handed Toph another whole peach.

"Just set it on the counter, I'll eat it later okay?" Katara turned back to her cooking, which was proving to be more difficult without her pot. She was trying to make stew with the left over rabbit and the last of the carrots. The rabbit wouldn't be very good cooked by itself. But she had to cook it all separately on the skillet. After managing to finally make enough broth for everyone, she tried to cook the rest of it. By the time she was ready to add the meat to the soup, the broth had gone cold.

She blew a puff of hair out of her face and clenched her fists in frustration. After a deep breath, she leaned over the counter separating the kitchen and the dining area, "Aang, can you help me with something?" She tried to sound calm, but from the way Zuko looked away from her, she guessed it wasn't successful.

Aang jumped up eagerly regardless, "What is it Katara?"

"Can you warm up the soup for me?"

"Sure!" he quickly bounded over, excited to show Katara what he could do. He put his fingers in each of the bowls until they were all steaming pleasantly. "Is that good?" He asked, looking for approval from one of his first bending teachers.

"Yes Aang, you did splendidly. Thanks," she picked up two bowls and carried them to the table, Aang quickly followed with bowls of his own.

"I think it would be a good idea to go into town tomorrow," Katara said as she set down the last bowl. She looked around to gauge the reaction. Not many of them seemed all that interested in what she had to say. Sokka was looking at his food distastefully, but Aang's ears perked up a little. Zuko was looking away from her, seemingly ignoring her all together. Jerkbender.

"What for?" Sokka asked before he remembered the incident with her pot earlier.

"We need some more supplies and food," she said as she sat down. She purposefully left out the pot. Getting angry wouldn't make her pot come back and she was trying hard not to be so angry anymore.

"We haven't been in hiding for very long. Is it a good idea to leave so soon?" Haru asked.

Toph bent a wall behind her, leaning against as she put her feet on the table. "We don't need anything, Sugar Queen, we got Zuko." Zuko smiled slightly to himself.

"Yeah, I don't like the idea of leaving so soon after the invasion. They will be looking for us. It's too dangerous Katara." Sokka shook his head.

"We need more than just moon-peaches. We need real food: fish, meat, bread, rice. Not to mention clothes and soap."

"You wouldn't be able to leave for two or three days anyways; there's a storm coming." Zuko said as he glanced out through the balcony door.

"Fine, then I'll leave in three days," Katara argued back.

"I still don't like it." Sokka said, still shaking his head.

"Katara and I can go," Aang smiled at me and then looked at Sokka, "We'll be careful."

"No," Zuko and Katara said at the same time. She glared at him until he looked away. "You need to stay hidden more than any of us. And I'm the one who knows what we are missing. If Sokka goes we'll just end up with another animal to feed."

"That was only one time! And Hawky has been very useful!"

"It has to be me."

"Absolutely not!" Sokka all but yelled at her.

She stood up defensively, "Why not! I'm perfectly able to do this."

"_Perfectly able?_ Katara, you get into more trouble than any of us." She started to argue but Sokka cut her off. "Remember the pirates? Or the Fire Nation prison ships? Not to mention your little stunt with the Painted Lady and that isn't even half of it! You need to be on a tighter leash than Aang."

"Painted Lady?" Zuko looked up from his food with curiosity written all over his face. So he was familiar with the legend. _Perfect._

Katara ignored him and stood very still, trying to calm her frustrated thoughts into coherent screams at the very least. The anger coming from her body was so apparent that Zuko had leaned away, Aang was watching her carefully and even Toph had silently pulled her feet off the table. Sokka was the only one blissfully unaware of what she was about to do.

"You know Katara," Sokka said in a normal tone. He was pulling the meat distastefully apart with his fingers, "This meat's kinda dry."

In less time it took her heart to beat she pulled the water from her glass and shot it at Sokka's face. He fell backwards with his feet swinging over his head with an "Umph."

"It wouldn't have been _dry_ if you hadn't blown up my pot!" She screamed at him. Losing all control completely, she took the rest of the group's drinking water, mixed in with the soup from their bowls, and flooded it all on Sokka while he tried to get up. Then as a final touch, she froze his feet to the ground and stomped off.

Katara didn't know where she wanted to go but ended up in the room she needed to be in the most; The Bathing room. Quickly barricading herself in with ice and then collapsed in the cool pool. The troughs leading the water out had been blocked, allowing it to build up to her thighs. Now was not the first time she wished she could heat it up like a firebender. She didn't mind too much though. After all, she was from the South Pole. She'd never had a warm bath until she traveled to the Earth Kingdom.

A sigh escaped her lips as she thought of the good days they spent traveling throughout the Earth Kingdom. Everything was simpler back then, just the three of them. They could go anywhere they wanted to. Back then she hadn't had so many responsibilities.

She floated there for what seemed like hours. Letting all her anger melt into the water until she felt normal again.

_So much for not being angry,_ she thought. She probably over reacted a little, but she didn't need Sokka throwing all her mistakes in her face like that. The food was just too much. After all, she had next to no supplies to work with and what seasoning they did have was all Fire Nation and she didn't know how to cook with that. She thought dinner had turned out well considering everything.

She moved the water above her, creating a bubble of air around her head and pushing herself to the bottom of the little pool. The water felt soothing, like it was healing her emotional wounds instead of physical ones. She was under the water for a while but not quite as long as she had wanted. She felt someone yank her shoulders out of the water and drag her hastily to the side of the pool.

The movement disorientated Katara. She gasped for air and flew her arms at whatever was moving. She tried to waterbend but couldn't get her footing down so the most she did was splash water at the person until he stopped. Whoever it was let go and she was on her feet in seconds. Katara immediately started throwing ice and water at the figure in front of her before she could see who it was.

Flames came up and melted the icicles. She pulled more water around her, ready for his next attack. The flames simmered down and Zuko stood in its place.

"Katara, it's just me." He threw his hands up in the air surrendering.

She didn't put her hands down. "What are you doing?" She glanced back at her ice door to see half of it was melted.

Zuko searched around the room as if he could find his answer there. "I- I thought you were drowning," he looked down and his face reddened.

Katara laughed aloud, not a happy laugh but an angry, cynical one. "Yeah, sure, that's what you were doing. I'm a _Master_ waterbender." She kept her hands up.

He looked at her then, utterly defeated for just a minute and then his face became unreadable. "I was trying to help."

Katara studied him for a minute, not sure what to think. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him but he sounded like he _was_ telling the truth. _Don't be stupid!_ She thought furiously, _Zuko always lies. _She had had enough of this game; she dropped the water down and turned to leave.

"Wait, I need to know what you needed." She stopped and turned around, not sure what he was talking about.

"What I needed?" She asked stupidly.

"From the town. I told Aang I would go."

"Oh, no you're not." She said instantly. "There is no way you're leaving here. You'll bring the army back with you."

"Why can't you just trust me? I'm doing this for you!" He shouted back at me.

"Why should I believe that? You've never done anything but try to hurt us, to hurt Aang." Then, right on cue, Aang ran into the room.

"What's wrong Katara?" Aang had his staff ready but he lowered it once he saw it was only Zuko.

"Did you know about this?" She shrieked at him.

"About what?" Aang looked back and forth from Zuko and Katara.

"That he's planning on leaving!" She pointed at Zuko angrily.

"Katara," Aang sighed. "He's one of us now, can't you see that? He's good."

She glared at Zuko, "He's Fire Nation!" And with that as her last word she stormed out of the room.

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><p><strong>AN:** My first story! Wooo! I have had this done for months. I just needed to get it out here before I talked myself out of it. Let me know what you guys think of it, I'd appreciate the feedback. (o_O) (O_o)


	2. Sneaking Around

**A/N: I don't own ATLA.**

**Hurray! For Roots201, RenaJ159, Aipom4, and Gidon for being my first reviewers! You guys keep me hopeful, so virtual cookies all around!**

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><p>Katara was actually in a good mood during dinner that night. After spending so much of the day keeping busy with chores, it was nice to sit back and relax for awhile. These dinners around the campfire always were her favorite pastime. She could feel the moon giving her more strength and smiled at everyone as they sat around the fire out on the balcony, eating dinner. Well all except for Zuko but he didn't really count. The sun had just set, casting shadows around the temple. The air had become cooler, making it more comfortable tonight.<p>

"So how's Sparky's spark coming along?" Sokka asked Aang with a big grin on his face. "Get it? Sparky's _spark? _'Cause he's a Firebender?" he began laughing without waiting for Aang to answer.

Katara gave Sokka an annoyed look but Aang smiled politely.

"Completely restored thanks to the Dragons. He said I'm learning pretty fast." Aang set down his plate and leaned back on his hands.

"Of course you are Aang. You're an excellent pupil." Katara's complement made Aang blush a little as he bowed his head slightly to her.

"I could still improve."

"Yeah you can," Toph exclaimed as she snagged the last piece of fish and set it on her plate. Katara noticed Toph made no attempt to actually eat the fish, just claim it before anyone else could.

"Can I have a lesson with you tonight Sifu-Katara?" Aang asked politely.

Katara was delighted that he was so eager to learn more about waterbending, "Of course. The moon is out so tonight would be perfect for some waterbending."

"What about your earthbending? You need more training in that too," Toph stretched out on the floor.

"We have plenty of time for all that," Sokka leaned over to his bag near the fire and pulled out a map of the Fire Nation. "We have several weeks before Sozin's comet arrives. This is a pretty good hide out from the Fire Nation so we can stay here for the time being. While we lay low, Aang can continue to master all the elements. It took us about five days to get here," he pointed at the Fire Nation Capital and moved his finger to the Western Air Temple, "so if we leave six days before the Comet comes then we'll be there in time to stop the Fire Lord and all his evil doings!" Sokka stood up with his fist triumphantly in the air.

"You make it sound so easy!" Aang fell backwards and covered his face with his hands.

Katara reached out to comfort him. She placed her hand on his ankle, the closest limb to her, and patted it reassuringly. "You'll be just fine Aang. You're practically a master waterbender already. You just need a little more practice."

Aang peeked out from under his hands, "You really think so?"

"Well, sure," Katara shrugged as she started cleaning her pots with Waterbending. "You've been practicing that element as long as I have."

"How hard could pushing around a little water be?"

Katara recognized Toph's words as bait. "Probably just as difficult as kicking rocks," she said calmly.

Toph laughed, "Touché." She dropped her fist down. As her fist left an indent in the ground a rock shot up from just below where her fist landed. The small rock was aimed at Katara but this was child's play. Katara made a smooth motion with her arm and her cleaning water moved up to bat the rock out of the way. Sokka yelped as the rock hit him in the head.

"Hey! No bending around non-benders," Sokka rubbed his head.

Katara ignored her brother and looked at the fish still sitting on Toph's plate. "Are you finished with that Toph?" Katara reached for the plate but Toph dug her foot into the ground and a small wall came up between Katara's hand and the dish.

"Nope."

Katara glared at her, knowing she couldn't see it. "If you're not going to eat it then let me pack it up so it won't go bad. You shouldn't waste food."

"Who said I'm wasting it?" Toph said angrily as she stood up. She kicked the ground and the plate flew up to her hands. She left without another word. Katara glared after her. She knew something was strange about that but she couldn't quite figure it out. Katara hated not knowing what was going on. She was half inclined to follow Toph to see where she was going when Aang interrupted her thoughts. It was just the same anyways, since Toph would know Katara was following her. She reluctantly followed Aang out to the balcony to start his lesson.

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><p>Zuko was in his room, staring at the ceiling. He had found refuge here for the past few nights since he joined them. He didn't feel comfortable around most of the people here. Mostly Katara.<p>

"Hey there Sparky!" Toph chimed as she threw back his door.

"You could knock, you know," he sat up on his bed to make room for her to sit down. Toph had been coming by almost every night with some food. It was nice to be able to skip dinner and still eat.

"That _was_ me knocking." She dropped a plate of fish on his lap. "It's not very good tonight."

"Thanks," he took a bite. He was thankful for his months of starvation now; they helped him appreciate Katara's cooking better. It also didn't hurt to be practiced in ignoring hunger pains either. "It's not that bad."

"I can tell you're lying, but that's okay. We all think it's bad, but no one can do any better."

Toph waited for Zuko to finish off the fish before she started talking again. He set the plate down and leaned against the wall.

"Long day, huh?"

He brought his hand up to cover his eyes, "the longest."

"I think it's going to get worse before it gets better," Toph said sympathetically.

He glanced at the blind girl, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what it is, but she's angry almost all the time."

"And that is different how?"

"Well before she would be angry, I can feel her tension and blood pressure and all. But usually it was just when you were around. When you left she would calm down but she doesn't calm down any more, and when she sees you she's angrier than I think I've ever felt." She turned to face his general direction before she finished, "All I'm saying is something isn't right with her and you should probably watch your back, if you get what I'm saying."

Zuko could feel his own blood pressure rise a little at the threat. He thought about what Katara had said to him that first night he joined them. He had always been able to hold up his own when fighting her, but in all his travels, he never saw anything more fearsome than an angry water bender.

"She's intense sometimes, isn't she," Toph said.

"Yeah."

"Well don't worry, I won't let her getcha," she said enthusiastically.

Zuko grunted, "I think I can handle my own, thank you."

After a few minutes of silence he asked, "Is she ever pleasant?"

Toph laughed and then smiled thoughtfully, "She can be." She remembered their time spent setting up the heist that went so terribly wrong. "She likes to play mother though, and sometimes she gets so caught up in taking care of everyone that she forgets how to have fun." Toph sat up suddenly and set one of her feet on floor, listening to something beyond Zuko's capabilities. Just then, Sokka barged into the room and shut the door hastily behind him. He dropped a sack of something metal that clanged when it hit the ground. He waited a minute before he turned around to face them.

"Hey guys," he said.

"What do you want?" Zuko asked impatiently, he didn't like surprises.

"Well, I am, uhh, sorta hiding out." His voice squeaked a little nervously.

"From who?" Zuko asked. Toph was already laughing but Zuko didn't get it.

"Katara's really angry today and I just figured the less I could get in her way the better. But she's running all over the place cleaning and, well, I just thought the one place she would avoid is here."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, "Because of me." Toph laughed harder.

"You are pretty good at keeping her away, Sparky."

"It's a honed skill. One that took almost a year to perfect. I'm glad to see it come to good use." Zuko said dryly.

Sokka glanced between Zuko and a laughing Toph and then settled on Toph. "Did Sparky just make a joke?"

She smiled, "I think so."

Sokka's face turned deadly as he faced Zuko head on. In a smooth motion he pulled out his sword and pointed it just under Zuko's nose. "You better watch yourself, Zuko." He reminded Zuko faintly of Katara when she threatened him. Did everyone at the water tribe have that deadly serious tone?

Zuko imagined for a minute a young Sokka and Katara sitting with other children in a tent. An older woman standing over them saying, "Okay children, today we will be learning an ancient art. One that has been passed down from generation to generation." She paused as her face turned very grave. "The Water Tribe Scary Face."

"I'm the funny one around here," Sokka said as he fought off a smile.

Toph kicked the ground and a pillar shot up from under Sokka's hand, hitting it hard enough to cause him to drop his sword. Zuko caught it quickly before it hit the ground. "No one threatens Zuko," Toph shouted.

Sokka shook his hand, "What are you talking about? Everyone threatens Zuko."

Ignoring them, Zuko looked at Sokka's blade. It was unlike anything he had seen before. Black as the night sky and sharper than any sword he had ever wielded. He examined it closer, "What is this made out of?"

Sokka looked up from his fight with Toph with pride in his eyes. "It's from a meteor we found in the Fire Nation. I made it myself."

That surprised Zuko, "When did you guys find time to forage a blade?"

Sokka shrugged, "In the rare quiet moments in between being hunted down by you and your family."

"I didn't realize we left you any 'quiet moments.'" Zuko handed the sword back and added, "That's a nice sword."

"Thanks," he sheathed it and then turned to Toph. "By the way Toph, could you help me with a metally project sometime?"

Toph sat up a little straighter, "Sure, what's the problem?"

Sokka opened up a bag and pulled out pieces of warped and charred metal. "Can you turn this back into a pot?"

Zuko moved closer to get a better look, "This was a pot?"

"Yeah, I sorta accidentally blew it up and I was hoping Katara might feel better if I could fix it."

"You mean if _I_ could fix it!" Toph picked up the biggest piece and started examining it.

"Right," Sokka agreed.

"How did you blow it up in the first place?" Zuko picked up a smaller piece.

"Explosive peanuts," Sokka said as he leaned back, confident in Toph's work.

Zuko raised his eyebrow, "Is this why she's so angry?" He asked Sokka, hopeful that Katara's mood swings would be normal soon.

He saw a shadow cross Sokka's face before he answered. "No, it's not."

Both Toph and Zuko stopped what they were doing and looked at Sokka. _Perhaps this is bigger than I thought, _Zuko thought to himself.

Sokka looked away from their stares after a moment, resigning not to say more. Toph sensed the change and held up the blob of metal. "Okay Snoozels, here's the deal. We all want to know what's up with sugar queen and why she's so crazy all the time, so you spill what you know or I won't fix this," she pointed the blob a few feet over from where Sokka sat.

Sokka sighed and then looked at Zuko. "I guess I probably _should_ warn you."

Zuko's brows came forward in confusion. "Warn me about what?" he asked impatiently.

"I should have told you sooner, I just don't really like to talk about it," he paused again. Zuko had to restrain himself from grabbing Sokka by the collar and demanding to know what was going on. It was obvious that whatever it was, it was affecting Sokka too, just not as severely as Katara. Sokka started again after a long sigh, "The anniversary of our mom's death is in a few days."

"That's rough," Toph said quietly after a moment.

"I don't usually remember it, I've never been too good with dates," he laughed half-heartedly. "But I always know when it's coming up because Katara gets like this. Usually she would disappear for awhile, cleaning up the whole tribe and gathering more food than anyone could ever eat." He looked absent-mindedly out the window. "It's worse this year, maybe because we're so far from home," he mused and then shrugged. He looked back at Zuko, "But anyways, I would avoid her at all costs if I were you."

"Why?" Zuko asked stupidly.

"I don't know what she would do if you pushed anymore of her buttons."

Zuko didn't like the hidden accusation. "It isn't my fault! I haven't done anything to her!"

"Really?" Toph asked sarcastically, raising her eyebrows. "Then why does your heart tell a different tale?"

Zuko's face reddened, "I'm not lying, I didn't do anything."

"Well you must feel guilty about something, because your heart is bouncing all over the place."

"Guilty?" He did feel guilty. That was part of the reason he put up with so much of her crap.

Sokka shook his head, "It doesn't matter. I'm just saying; if you want to live, steer clear of Katara for a few days."

* * *

><p>Zuko couldn't believe he was doing this. It was childish and beneath him. But then again, he wasn't a prince anymore. Who could say that anything was beneath him now? And he did secretly admit to himself that he was having fun. It had been so long since he had had <em>fun.<em> He could vaguely remember running around the palace with Azula, back when his mother was still around. They would play spy, whoever could find out the juiciest bit of information without getting caught won. It was usually Azula, of course. Azula always won everything. He ran a hand through his hair, moving it out of his eyes while he crouched behind a pillar.

Toph said she would need more metal if she was going to fix the pot and Zuko got recruited by Sokka to help them find scraps. Now all three were rummaging through the temples looking for metal to spare. The fun part was that Katara was also rummaging through nonessential items. They had to sneak around her if they didn't want to get yelled at. At the end of the day, whoever had the most items, and the fewer water whip burns, won.

He glanced around the pillar to get a picture of the situation. Appa was sleeping on the balcony and Katara was brushing his fur. She had a slight blind spot around another pillar but he knew it would be tricky getting from the pillar to the other side of Appa. He would just have to take his chance.

He had already collected a small amount of metal from his war balloon, mostly extra nuts and bolts, but he needed more. Sokka and Toph seemed to be steering clear of Appa, probably because Katara was here, but Zuko knew that the bison's packs had the best chance of having something useful. From what he learned on his travels, these kids liked to shop and the only sensible shopper was Katara. That left a lot of room for useless crap.

He moved stealthily to the pillar and peaked around the edge. He notice Katara's gentle face while she waterbended some clumps of hair off Appa. She looked serene, for the first time since…well, ever. As he looked back on all the times he spent with her he realized there really wasn't a time her face wasn't twisted up with anger. _Except Ba Sing Se._ He thought back with remorse on that day. He had made a lot of mistakes that day. But as he went over the memory he remembered the soft question in her eyes as she reached up to touch his face, his scar_._ He sighed softly, _No wonder she hates me._

"Sometimes I wish I could be a flying bison," Katara sighed. Zuko became utterly still as he listened. "You can just pick up and fly off any time you felt like. You don't have to worry about who to trust or what chores need to be done or who hasn't eaten yet. Sometimes I feel like I have so much to do that if I slow down, even a little bit, I'll just fall to pieces." She sighed again, "Life's not easy. Not that anyone ever told me it would be. The South Pole was hard too. Just a different kind of hard I guess. I was used to it, I suppose. And that made it seem easier. I was excited to leave though. I wanted to see the world. To escape from my responsibilities and learn waterbending. And now," she laughed a little humorlessly. "Now I'm trapped in a nation I spent my whole life hating, with a person I spent, well not my whole life, but all the time I've known him, hating." She sighed again, "The real funny part of it is that I'm still trapped and I still have a family to take care of. I guess this was always my destiny. There's no point running from it."

She turned to pick up more water from the fountain behind her and Zuko took this chance to dive for the bison. He executed the move perfectly silent, until his foot hit a rock that skidded a ways away from him. He heard her stop bending and froze, too afraid to breath.

"Who's there?" She asked cautiously. She paused for a minute and then began to move around the bison.

_Shit,_ he thought to himself. He had to think fast or he was going to be caught red handed. Not that he was doing anything wrong, besides eavesdropping. That probably wouldn't go over well with Katara, knowing her private conversation wasn't so private. He doubted she would ever admit this to anyone and the last thing he needed was for her to have another reason to hate him.

As if Appa understood the gravity of the moment, he rolled over with a loud yawn, successfully squishing Zuko in the process. Appa's yawn covered Zuko's little yelp as the air squeezed from his lungs.

He could see Katara's bare feet as she stepped around the massive bison. Zuko tried to suck in some air but he quickly realized struggling was futile. He wouldn't be able to move from this spot until Appa let him. He just hoped that would be soon.

Katara's feet moved closer to his face and he heard the ruffling of Appa's fur as she pet him. "Are you getting tired, big guy? I guess I should probably go to bed too. Not that I'll be able to sleep," she muttered as she left the balcony. Just as spots were starting to dance around his vision, Appa moved off him with a groan. Zuko matched that groan as he got to his feet. He leaned up against Appa's side while he caught his breath.

He was glad Katara had _someone_ to talk to, even if Appa couldn't talk back. Zuko knew what it felt like not to have someone to talk to. After coming to the Fire Nation, it seemed no one had the time to listen. Even Mai only put up with it for a short time. She usually brushed him off, telling him how depressing he always was.

Appa distracted Zuko's thoughts by turning and licking him from his toes to his head. He was left with sticky and slimy skin and hair that stood straight up on one side. Zuko made a disgusted sound as he flattened his hair. "Thanks Appa, I needed that."

* * *

><p>Toph was the winner. Not that it surprised anyone.<p>

"You cheated!" Sokka pointed an accusing finger at the blind girl.

"Did not," she folded her arms and leaned against the wall of Zuko's bedroom. She had a very decent pile of miscellaneous metallic items. Most of it looked like pieces of Teo's inventions.

"Did so," Sokka shouted, "you used your feet to feel the metal AND you could tell where Katara was at all times." Sokka's pile was less impressive. He had a shinny rock, that was graphite, not metal, and some nuts. Real nuts, not the metal ones Zuko found, but the ones typically used to feed Momo.

"So what? You used your eyes didn't you? Why can't I use mine? Besides, I've never _seen _metal before, but you know what it looks like."

"Actually, I don't think he does." Zuko picked up one of Sokka's nuts and held it up, "Did you really think this was metal?" Toph snickered while Sokka scratched the back of his head. "Sometimes there's metal in the rocks, I thought maybe Toph could bend the metal out."

"I probably could, if I had a big enough piece. But that's an acorn." Toph laughed harder and even Zuko couldn't hold back his smile.

"Fine! Whatever, so I brought you an acorn. Do you have enough to make the pot?" Toph used her bending to move Zuko's pile closer to her. The only metal he found in the packs was a cup and some random jewelry.

"I don't know whose bracelet that is, so we may not want to use it," Zuko added while Toph examined it.

"I'm pretty sure Aang bought those. I don't think he would mind," Sokka said as he slid down to look at the pile with Toph.

"Why would Aang buy a bunch of jewelry?"

Sokka shrugged, "He really likes trinkets. Hey, this one is from Kiyoshi Island! Look it has a little fan and everything." He held up a green bracelet with a little fan charm hanging off it. Zuko noticed Sokka's face turn sober as he examined the small fan. He silently put it on his own wrist. Toph placed her hand gently on Sokka's ankle. Zuko could tell they were communicating something important but it was lost on him. He just didn't know them well enough.

The air turned tense fairly quickly. Zuko could see tears bead up in Sokka's eyes and forced himself to look away, moving his gaze to his legs folded beneath him. Sokka stood up briskly.

"It looks like Toph has enough metal, probably in her pile alone. So good job guys, mission accomplished," his voice cracked ever so slightly on the last word. He took a deep breath and then quickly said good night, stating he would come back tomorrow to help Toph with the bending if she needed it. Toph made no comment on how he couldn't bend so his help was useless, or how she knew what a pot looked like and didn't need to be baby-sitted. She just said good night and let him leave.

The minutes ticked by as she continued to examine the metal silently, making two piles, one for the pot and one to be discarded. She left most of the jewelry out of the pot pile, but used everything else he brought her. She set down the cup and blew out a big breath.

"Fine, I'll tell you."

Zuko looked up, "You don't have to share any secrets."

"Don't worry, Sparky. It's no secret. Sokka's got a thing for one of the Kyoshi Warriors that was captured by Crazy."

"Crazy?"

"You know, lightening, weird blue fire, totally unstable? I'm sure you've met," she added, her tone dripping in sarcasm.

"_Azula?_ You nicknamed Azula as Crazy?" He said incredulously. "I hope for your sake, she's never heard you call her that." He chuckled softly while shaking his head in dismay.

"Psh," Toph waved her hand dismissively, "I can take that double-crossing, crazy ass Bit—"

"Toph!" Zuko interrupted. "You shouldn't even know those words, let alone be using them."

She jutted her chin out in defiance. "Bitch," she pronounced the word carefully. "In a world full of war, there's no time to hang on to innocents. You either gotta grow up fast or die."

Zuko laughed humorlessly. He knew about growing up too fast. "Trust me, I know all about that."

Toph smiled, a little sad. "Everyone here does. I think it took Sokka awhile. He had Katara to take care of him, but they both still went through a lot." Zuko nodded as he thought of Ba Sing Se again. Katara kneeling over, crying over her lost mother.

"Aang still has a lot of innocents left. Too much, actually."

"He's so full of hope, it's hopeless. Katara's like that a lot too but even she has her limits." Toph thought to herself for a minute before she laughed quietly. "Although you should have seen him before the Day of Black Sun. He was a total quack! All that pressure got to him eventually."

"I guess you can't run from your problems forever." It hung in the air after he said it, bouncing between both of them, bringing up old memories and a fresh sense of foreboding. The conversation died as they both became lost in their thoughts. It was easy to forget everything sometimes, pretend this is a normal life with a normal family. He felt more at home tonight than he had all week. Everyone was polite to him at least. _Well everyone except Katara. _Toph was always more than nice. Well she was mean, but in a nice way. Like the little sister he never had. And Sokka seemed to be coming around too. Even if he did only seek Zuko out because he knew Katara never would.

That sent a pang of regret through him but he refused to think about it anymore tonight. Katara brought up his mistakes enough for the both of them.

Zuko glanced over at Toph as her head bobbed down to her lap. He slid next to her and pulled her into his lap. Toph reminded him of Azula at times. Not the crazy Azula that he knows today, but the younger one, the not so evil one. He sighed and leaned against the wall, trying to push the good memories away with the bad. There had been so many bad times that the good ones were only torture now. He needed to keep all that in the past and look to his future with the Avatar. It was all he had left.

Zuko woke up that morning like he always did when the sun started to rise. Though he noticed this morning was a little different. First of all he wasn't in his bed, and second there was a sleeping earthbender next to him. He sat up slowly, trying not to jostle her awake. Although, he suspected that his attempts were unnecessary. By the way she was snoring he didn't think he could wake her if he needed to.

He sighed as her snoring seemed to penetrate the sound barrier and scooped her up. His limbs were dragging a little as he carried her to her room. Sometimes waking with the sun was convenient, today it felt more like torture. After all, he couldn't have gotten more than a few hours of sleep. Concentrating on the floor to keep from tripping on his own feet, he didn't see Katara turn the corner until they bumped into each other.

"Sorry," she mumbled quietly and then she noticed who it was, "oh it's you." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What are you doing up so early?"

Zuko blew out a breath of exasperation. It was too early for this. "I'm always up this early." She glared at him for a moment and then her gaze moved down to Toph, noticing the sleeping child for the first time.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked as her anger turned into concern. He couldn't help but wish she would make that face in regards to him some time. But as far as he was concerned, she only had room for hate and that hatred consumed all her other emotions for him. He could feel his own anger settle inside him, singeing away at him slowly, just like a disease.

"For the love of Agni! I am not doing anything wrong. I haven't done anything wrong in quite some time so please, for both our sakes, just leave me alone," he was almost shouting and he had to remind himself of the sleeping girl in his arms. "Look," he spoke softer but the anger in his voice was just as clear. "I know you're upset by something horrible that you had no control over, but you and I both know I had nothing to do with it." There was a nagging voice in the back of his mind that told him he had gone too far.

Katara took a small step back. Her eyes were wide and glossy. Only then did he notice how puffy and red they were. She had been crying recently, and by the looks of the bruises forming under her eyes, he suspected she'd spent most of the night crying. She took a quick step forward and slapped him so hard he had to take a step back to regain his balance. She stared at him for a short moment, searching for the right words. He waited for the screaming to start but instead she just shook her head slightly and pushed past him. He stared after her as she took off down the hall, not quite able to move. Maybe if he just stood still long enough, he could reverse this and take it all back.

"Real smooth, jerkbender," Toph said as she wiggled out of his arms and moved down the hall to her room. He stared after her for a moment before he couldn't stand the silence any longer. He shouted, fire screaming from his lips and moved his fist into the wall with all his strength. Pain shuddered through his arm and down to his toes but did little to make him feel better.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Again, thanks for the reviews, I truly enjoyed reading them (so much that I read them all twice). **

**I know I still haven't gotten into the main plot yet but don't worry, it will come up soon. I have all these ideas that I needed to get down first because, well let's just say once I get far enough into the story, there's no turning back. But I'm all for your opinions, let me know if you think I'm taking this too slow or something (be warned though, if I skip to bigger plot lines then lots of awesome Zuko/Katara interactions will be sacrificed -_-).**


	3. Manly Outing

Katara worked hard and sloppy in the kitchen that morning. She threw a pot on the counter and tossed a few cups of dried oats in it. She was too angry to even waterbend the water into the pot and she didn't bother with measurements. She cooked the rest of the meal in the same incoherent fury, chopping crude vegetables like onions and peppers that were uneven and unfit for oatmeal. She mixed in the moon-peach Aang saved for her yesterday, not even bothering to cut it. She just squeezed the life out of it and threw it in. She even tried to crack an egg but she couldn't manage to break it delicately. Instead she crushed it in her fist over the pot and threw what was left in her hand on the floor.

She imagined Zuko's face on every onion she slaughtered, every egg she crushed, and she beat the over-cooking oatmeal with her spoon instead of stirring it. By the end of it she looked just as crazy as she felt. She had flour and egg on her arms, clothes, and even in her hair, causing strands to stick out unevenly.

She picked up the sticky pot and carried it over to the table. She was acutely aware that everyone was watching her warily. She got the sense that they all wanted to flee but were too afraid to actually do it. The only one not here was Zuko and she was so furious she couldn't even spare a moment to be relieved at his absence. Instead she pictured his face turning blue while she strangled him, or how he would look with one less arm. She felt a twisted smile stretch across her face.

"Is everything okay, Katara?" Aang asked softly.

"Fine," she said automatically, "everything is fine, why would you think otherwise? Now hold out your hand." She continued without waiting for an answer and Aang reluctantly did as she asked. She spooned up a large amount of the glob that was supposed to be breakfast. It was hard and chewier than oatmeal was ever meant to be. She scooped up the mangled peach with the rest and slapped the mess in his hands.

Aang's face turned a little green as he looked over his food but he bowed to her, forcing a smile on his face, "Thank you Sifu Katara." She began to serve everyone else after that. They all followed suit with Aang, holding out their hands and thanking her quietly. Katara had to hold Toph's hand for her because she couldn't see the spoon. The only person who didn't eat was Sokka, who left after Aang was served. She let him go in silence, knowing he felt at least some of the pain she did.

She sat down with her own scoop and shoved a large mouthful in. She couldn't smell it or taste it and she didn't care. She chewed it quickly and ate more when she was done. Halfway through her second helping Zuko came in. He hovered by the doorway and called out to Aang.

"Zuko," Katara chimed out, trying to sound polite and failing horribly. "You missed breakfast." She scooped up a large amount and flung the rocky oats at him. He ducked just in time as his breakfast flew into the wall behind him. It lodged itself into the foundation, cracking the stone around it. He looked at her wide-eyed for a moment and then turned to Aang.

"I'll be on the top balcony, don't keep me waiting," he said as if nothing had happened. Then he ducked out of the room just as Katara flung his second helpings at him. It hit the wall just a few feet from the first one. She looked at everyone else as they gawked at her.

"Breakfast is over, everyone out please. I need to clean." She was glad she didn't need to ask twice.

* * *

><p>Sokka sat against the railing in the training balcony with his bag of metal objects sitting next to him. This balcony was designated for training because it was perfect for any element. There was a small water fall from the cliffs above that fell into a rather large pool and then traveled a small rivet off the balcony, and enough rock from the cliffs to satisfy any earthbender. It was also the highest balcony so no one had to worry about getting burned. Toph and Sokka had decided this would be a good place to work since Zuko's lessons would be starting soon. He was sure Katara wouldn't be around for awhile. He just had to wait for Toph to escape from breakfast.<p>

Katara had definitely been in one of her moods this morning, though Sokka doubted he had ever seen her this angry. He hoped she didn't hurt anyone today. Who knows what that food would do to them? Maybe someone else should take over cooking for awhile. Or permanently. Katara was not the best cook by a long shot but he certainly couldn't do better. Aang was pretty young, and he mostly just ate fruit. Toph was blind so she was out. Maybe Zuko? But he lived a life of royalty so he probably wouldn't know how either.

Zuko stormed in then, fire pouring from his lips, "What is wrong with her?" He shouted to no one in particular. Sokka still felt inclined to answer.

"I told you to stay away from her."

Zuko turned to Sokka, surprised to see him there. He moved his hand through his hair a little nervously, "yeah well, that was easier said than done. It doesn't help that Aang follows her around like a quail-puppy."

Sokka laughed, "Yeah I don't get it either, but Aang seeks her approval for something. It's silly because Aang's probably the only one of us that couldn't do anything wrong."

"And I can't seem to do anything right."

"It doesn't help when you yell at her for missing her mother," Toph said as she walked in. Zuko cringed at the reminder.

"You what?" Sokka said as stood up defensively. He seemed to stare right through Zuko. It was clear to Zuko that regardless of whether Sokka was warming up to him or even agreeing that Katara was a little crazy; Sokka was going to defend her. Their relationship was like nothing he had ever seen. They would fight and shout at each other all day and still come when the other needed help. He guessed that was what siblings were supposed to be like.

"I didn't yell at her for being upset, I just told her not to blame me for it." He looked between Sokka and Toph, hoping for some understanding in one of them. After all, these two were his only allies right now.

Sokka finally sighed and sat back down, "That was kinda stupid there Sparky."

"Sweetness is going to kill him."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, "I just can't take her crap anymore."

"He's braver than I first thought," Sokka mumbled to Toph. He turned back to Zuko, "I won't stop you if you want to confront her." He stood up again and faced Zuko. "I know she's a lot sometimes but she's my baby sister. Remember that before you make this day any harder for her." Zuko noticed then how sad Sokka looked. He didn't look frightening like he did last night. He hadn't been making many jokes this morning and it looked like he didn't have the energy to even properly threaten him. Zuko just nodded his agreement. He didn't really want to confront Katara, but it was clear that if he did, he wouldn't have Sokka's support.

"What's going on," Aang asked as he glided in through the balcony.

"You're late, Aang." Zuko was all business now. He was done talking about Katara.

"Sorry, Sifu Zuko," Aang bowed low to his new instructor.

"Forty hotsquats, then we will meditate." Aang sighed low and then started counting.

"Let's start making that pot," Toph said as she moved over to sit with Sokka.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Katara stood inspecting the holes she had made in the wall. She had no idea she had that kind of strength, but then again she was always her strongest when she was angry. She had gotten one of her abominations out but the other was stuck in there good. She kept pulling at it anyways, regardless of how futile it was.<p>

"I can help you with that." Katara jumped a little at the unexpected company. She turned to see Haru standing attentively in the doorway.

"Uh, sure. If you don't mind." She ran her fingers through her messy hair.

"Not at all." He moved into a stance and pulled the wall back to its normal position, causing the chunk of oatmeal to fall to the ground.

"Thanks." They stood in silence for a moment. The air was getting awkward and Katara just wanted Haru to leave. Things were strange around him now. He seemed different, too different. Katara suspected the mustache had something to do with that.

Haru reached down and picked it up. "It's as hard as rock," he said more to himself than Katara. "I wonder how this would react with explosive peanuts." He turned back to Katara, "How did you make this?"

"What? I don't know." She was getting frustrated with him already, "I wasn't exactly paying attention."

"Is it because of Zuko? Did he do something to you?"

"Yes… no… ugh, it doesn't matter, okay?" She threw her arms in the air, "No one cares that he's been on the wrong side of this war his whole life. Or that he has caused this group almost as much trouble as Azula. Or that he betrayed us before. Aang said he could stay so nothing else matters."

"He is the Avatar. Don't you trust his judgment?"

She didn't like the hidden accusation behind his words. "It's not like that. It's just, Aang is still a little kid. He doesn't know what's good for him."

"And you do?" Katara leveled a fierce glare on Haru. He seemed to lean away from her a little, too afraid to flee but too afraid to stay. She took the choice out of his hands and brushed past him.

She had more chores anyways. She had decided this morning that she needed to wash everything. After all they had been using blankets that have probably been collecting dust for years. She went into everyone's room, collecting their clothes and blankets. The younger one's rooms were messy and she made a mental note to come back and clean them. She stopped when she made it to Zuko's room, setting her basket of blankets down in the hall.

She had avoided this room since that first day he had been in here. She looked down the hall first and then opened his door. He wouldn't be here, he would still be training Aang for a few more hours.

Zuko's room was very clean. He didn't have anything out except for a picture of that old man he always traveled with. Katara remembered Zuko calling him Uncle once. She wondered where he was now. There was a lot about Zuko she didn't know about.

Pushing Zuko from her mind, she picked up his blanket and headed to the Training balcony. It was the best place to wash clothes since it had the largest fountain.

"Don't use your other abilities," Katara heard Zuko shouting. "You need to parry the fire with only your firebending." As Katara moved into the building she was surprised to see Zuko throwing wave after wave of fire at Aang. "Take the control of the fire away from me. You can control it. Just as the fire is about to burn you, bend it away."

"What are you doing to him!" Katara dropped her basket of clothes. Zuko stopped and turned to her. She could see sweat across his chest. Neither him nor Aang were wearing shirts. She was used to seeing Aang this way but she'd never seen Zuko half dressed before. She could feel her face redden a little.

Her attention was pulled away from Zuko to Toph and Sokka, sitting in a corner when she heard the earthbender swear.

"You were supposed to be watching for her," Sokka said as he threw his body over what looked like a rock.

"I was busy," Toph stood into a bending stance and brought her hands up. The ground seemed to swallow them up and then they were both gone, rock and all.

Katara stared a little dumbfounded at the spot they once were. "That was weird," she said to herself. Aang was looking behind him as well. "What's up with them?" She asked him.

Aang just shrugged and Zuko looked at her. "You weren't supposed to come up here. Now are you done interrupting my training?" he said angrily.

She put her hands on her hips, "Who says I can't come up here. I can go anywhere I want to. And you call that training? You're too harsh on Aang."

He took a step forward, obviously angry with her. "And you think that Ozai will go easy on him?" he pointed at Aang. "He needs to learn as much about defending himself against fire as he can!"

"He won't be any good in defeating the Fire Lord if you take him out first." She marched up to him and jabbed her finger into his chest.

"Katara, it's okay. Really," Aang tried to calm her down.

"Don't jab me," he pushed her hand away.

"I'll jab you if I want to," this time she shoved his shoulder.

"Very mature, Katara."

"You want to see mature? I'll show you mature." She turned around and began shifting through her basket of clothes until she found the ones wanted. She stood up and held them out to Zuko. "Recognize these?"

His brows furrowed in confusion, "How did you get those?" He moved forward to snatch them but she pulled them away and darted to the edge. Knowing he was right behind her, she moved to throw them off the edge. Zuko tackled her, trying to save his only extra set of clothing. They both lost balance as they fought over the garments and before they knew what was happening they were flying through the air.

Katara hardly had enough time to scream before she hit the ground. The ground knocked the wind out of her and then Zuko landed on top of her, damaging her further.

"Katara?" Sokka shouted, "What the hell did you do, Jerkbender?" he ran up to them. Katara was struggling to catch her breath while Zuko tried to get off her. He leaned over her, his face filled with regret and concern.

"Katara, are you okay?"

"Get _off_ me!" She kicked out with her feet, hitting Zuko in the stomach hard enough to make him keel over. Aang flew in from above and landed next to her.

"Katara, Zuko, are you guys all right."

"What happened?" Sokka turned to Aang, too impatient to wait for Katara to catch her breath.

"They were fighting and then they fell off." He scratched his bald head and looked up at the balcony, "It's a good thing this balcony stretches out more than that one." He bent over to help Katara to her feet. She stumbled a little and Sokka helped support her other side. She could feel her ankle was either twisted or sprained but it didn't matter. She could easily heal either one.

"They fell? Or he pushed her?" Sokka glared at Zuko.

"Or _she_ pushed _him_," Toph added, ever so helpfully.

"No it was my fault," Zuko winced as he stood up. Toph took a small step back.

"You really pushed her?" She sounded incredulous and almost afraid to hear the answer.

"No," Zuko protested, looking back and forth between Toph and Sokka. "I mean, well…I…I didn't—"

Katara could see him stumble for the right words. See how guilty he must have looked to Toph and Sokka. She knew it would be easy to say he pushed her. Even Aang, who saw what happened, wouldn't be able to argue much. It probably _had_ looked like Zuko had pushed her, at least enough to give everyone doubt about him. A part of her wanted to take it. This would finally give her the support she wanted from everyone, finally get rid of Zuko.

But she couldn't bring herself to say it. Something about the guilt that was so clear on his face made her think twice. He was clearly blaming himself even though it wasn't entirely his fault. She had helped them fall as much as he did, but the fact that he felt responsible was too much. She couldn't do it.

"Stop it. He didn't push me, okay? We fell. End of story." To emphasize the end of the conversation she brushed Aang and Sokka off and did her best to leave without limping.

* * *

><p>Sokka debated on whether he should go after her, but Aang spoke up first, "I'll go make sure she's okay." He ran out the door she had just passed through.<p>

"So you didn't push her?" Toph asked directly, wanting a clear read on his answer.

He hesitated, looking defeated, "Not on purpose."

Toph nodded once, "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head, "Do you think Katara's all right?" He looked at the doorway.

"No, she's not," Sokka shouted at Zuko. "She hasn't been okay all day. I don't know what you did to her and I don't care!" He lifted his hand to eye level and pointed at Zuko. "Just fix it." He tried to make his voice as scary as possible, Water Tribe style. He wouldn't say Zuko looked afraid of him. Zuko never looked afraid of anyone. But at the very least he looked regretful. It would have to be enough.

"Though I'd give her some space first," Sokka added after a moment, his tone softer. "Trust me on that." He was definitely in a sour mood. It was hard not to be when Katara was running around, being a constant reminder of the pain he should be feeling. It wasn't manly to be showing so much emotion like this. His eyes widened a little at his new idea. "That's it!" He shouted excitedly, causing Zuko to startle a little.

"What?" Zuko and Toph asked together.

"It's all this estrogen, that's the problem." Zuko tilted his head in confusion.

"You wanna say that again, Snoozles?" Woops, he sometimes forgot that underneath Toph's dirty and tough exterior, she was a girl too.

"Not you Toph, you're different from Katara. You don't get all emotional all the time."

She laughed, seeming appeased, "You'd better not let Katara hear you talking this way."

"I still don't follow you," Zuko said.

"Katara's emotions are probably going to be on hiatus all day. What we need," he gestured to Zuko, "is a manly outing!" He turned to Toph, "Can you finish the pot on your own?"

Toph shrugged, "Sure, but you know how it is, more work more credit."

"Okay deal."

"Good, I want to make sure that when Katara finally looses it, I'm on her good side." She headed back towards their work area.

"What exactly entails of a 'manly outing?'" Zuko asked cautiously.

"Hunting of course! It's the most manly thing we could do besides making offspring." Sokka had already started walking towards the exit. "I'll go see if Haru wants to come. Meet me at Appa's when you're ready." And then he was gone, excitedly planning for the manly outing.

Zuko could hear Toph laughing.

* * *

><p>An hour later and the three of them were stalking through the forest looking for tonight's dinner. The forest was thick with trees that soared high into the sky. The ground was covered with strange plants and stranger insects. Zuko could see a storm beginning to blow in. They should be back before it hit though.<p>

Sokka had his boomerang in one hand and his sword in the other. Both Haru and Zuko had decided to leave it to their bending. After all, it would be more difficult to sneak up on pray with two clanging swords. A fire ball from a distance would probably have a better effect. Haru simply didn't have a choice. As far as Zuko was aware, he had had no training in any weapons.

"Does anyone know what kind of animals we can expect in this forest?" Sokka asked as he stepped around a tree.

Haru shook his head.

"Parrots, snakes, tigers, that sort of thing. I'd avoid anything brightly colored," Zuko said as he ducked under a low branch.

"Why's that?" Sokka sliced through a big leafy plant that looked like an elephant's ear.

"Because that usually means it's poisonous. Or it's mimicking something else that is poisonous."

"But everything here is colorful," Sokka exclaimed hopelessly.

"How do we tell the difference?" Haru asked. He was a few paces ahead of Zuko, using his earthbending to make a bridge over a small river that weaved in front of them.

"You don't."

"I get it. The only way to tell the difference would be to eat it and hope you don't die."

Zuko nodded as he leapt up in a tree.

"Hey where are you going?" Sokka stopped moving and stared up after Zuko.

"The poisonous animals are usually ground-dwellers. We're more likely to find something edible up here. Maybe a monkey-tiger, that would feed us for awhile."

Sokka sheathed his weapons and moved closer to the tree. "You really think we could find a monkey-tiger?" His eyes glossed over as he thought of all the meat he could eat. Zuko just shrugged. "Good plan Sparky. Okay Haru, we are moving up." He raised his hand, pointing to the sky, and then jumped to the nearest branch. He caught the branch at his stomach and swung his legs back and forth, trying to find footing. Haru had earthbended himself up to a branch about half way up the large tree.

After watching Sokka struggle for a bit, Zuko finally moved down and reached out a hand to help.

"Thanks," he said as he stood up and pulled out his boomerang. "Now let's go find some monkeys!"

The trees were so thick with branches that it was pretty easy to move through them. Zuko felt better up here, not so vulnerable.

"You know, the chances of us actually finding a monkey is pretty small. In fact with all the noise we've been making we'd be lucky to come across a squirrel."

"I don't care what it is, as long as it's meaty," Sokka licked his lips as he said it.

There was a rustling above them and Sokka stopped moving. He gazed upward with a dead seriousness and held up his boomerang. He let it go at just the right angle as it flew through the air, missing all the branches. Zuko heard something cry out as the boomerang made contact and then a bird fell from the higher branches. As Sokka turned to catch his boomerang the dead bird hit him in the head. Zuko moved forward to grab him before he fell but he was a moment too late. Sokka shrieked as he fell from the branches and then made a very inhuman sound when he caught another branch between his legs.

Haru and Zuko both looked away and grimaced as he slid off the branch and hit the floor. The two still up in the trees moved down to the ground to help their fallen comrade. Zuko tried not to imagine the pain that kind of damage would cause. They found him stiff on the floor, huddled into the fetal position, hands between his legs.

"Would you look at that," Haru said as he bent to pick up the bird. "It's a _squirrel-_bird." He laughed at the irony.

"Not…cool," Sokka managed to get out while he tried to sit up. Zuko lowered a hand to help him.

"Come on Sokka, it's not so bad. Just walk it off," Haru said.

Sokka reached for his boomerang and set it off. It circled the group and hit Haru in the back of the head. He pitched forward and ended up with a mouthful of dirt.

"How about _you_ walk it off," Sokka said angrily, though he did stand up and began to move around slowly. Zuko tried to keep from laughing as Haru spit the dirt from his mouth. After a few minutes of recovery, Sokka seemed ready to move on.

"Let's stick to the ground from now on."

They traveled in silence for awhile, trying to sneak up on the next victim. Haru moved ahead, trying to get the next kill. By the second time Zuko had to move Sokka away from a snake coiled around a low branch, waiting for an unsuspecting lunch, he decided to hang back with Sokka. After all, someone had to keep him from further injuring himself.

Sokka slowed to a stop, "Let's take a break and stay here. Haru will probably have a better time by himself anyways." He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "It's hot here."

Zuko nodded, "We're pretty close to the equator."

"I don't know how you stand it. You're barely even sweating," Sokka pointed out. Zuko hadn't noticed before but he was right. After all, Zuko grew up in this climate, he felt comfortable here.

"Yeah well, I don't know how _you_ stand the South Pole. It was like Hell frozen over."

A small smile formed across Sokka's face, "Isn't it great? I never missed the freezing temperatures until I came to the Fire Nation. It's kinda funny how that works, you know? You never miss home until after you leave it. Then you realize how great it was all along."

Iroh flashed through his mind before he could stop it. "That's true of a lot of things." Once, Zuko thought he didn't need his Uncle. All he needed was to go home to his family. It wasn't until he got home that he realized he left his family in Ba Sing Se. Now he didn't know where his Uncle was, or if he'd ever see him again.

Zuko shook the thought off and ran a hand through his hair, "We should probably move on soon." He moved off the tree he was leaning on and started off in the direction of Haru.

"Right," Sokka stood up, brushing a brightly colored plant with his knee. The plant jerked away from him, then moved slowly back and rubbed up against Sokka's leg. "That was weird," he said as he bent back down to study the plant. He reached out with his hand to touch the big, green flower that hadn't budded yet. As his hand brushed it, it opened, slowly revealing a bright red center. Another larger plant next to it also opened slowly. "Zuko, come check this out. It's just like an animal." Zuko turned back to see what was keeping him. His eyes widened as he recognized the plant Sokka was playing with.

"Uhh Sokka, I wouldn't touch those if I were you."

Sokka laughed, "Why not? Come on Zuko, don't tell me you're afraid of a little plant." He turned back to the plant, "Is the big scary plant gonna eat you?" He spoke to it the same way he spoke to Momo.

"Well maybe. That plant is a carnivore."

Sokka laughed again, "That's impossible. Plant's don't eat—" The plant he was touching closed around his hand then and the larger one came down on his head. The plant muffled Sokka's scream as he tried to move away. Zuko quickly grabbed Sokka's other hand and pulled. After a moment of struggle they both fell backwards.

Sokka made a strangled sound of disgust as he looked at his hand. It was covered in a light pink, sticky slime that oozed off of him like an egg white. Sokka whimpered, "This forest hates me!"

Zuko couldn't help but laugh. It sounded strange as it came out of his unused throat, it had been a long time since Zuko had laughed at anything. He could only laugh harder when Sokka started scooting his face across the dirt in an attempt to get the slime off.

"This is so not funny!" Sokka shouted as he tried to flatten his wolf's tail.

Zuko stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants, "It is a little funny."

Sokka just stood up and stormed past him in response. Sokka wasn't in the mood to talk after that so they moved through the forest quickly and silently. It was long after they began chasing Haru that they heard something running towards them. Zuko figured at first that it was probably Haru, instead of some crazy beast trying to run them down. But if Haru was running like that then it meant he was probably being chased by some crazy beast.

"Something's coming," Sokka said as he moved behind a tree and pulled out his sword. Zuko moved behind a tree opposite of Sokka and readied himself.

After a tense moment of waiting, Haru popped out of a bush in a panic. When he saw Zuko he stopped running.

"I…I don't… Know what… It is," he said in between his labored breath, hands resting on his knees. Zuko heard a small rustling in the bush behind Haru and moved forward to get a better look. The bush rustled again and then a little black and white mammal stepped out. It had a long and skinny face with eyes on either side. It had scales across its back like armor and black and white tufts of fur poking out underneath. Sharp claws came out of its little white paws and a long, poufy black tail with a white stripe down the center.

It's little nose moved up to sniff the air, not trusting his eyes. Then he rolled into a ball. Zuko lifted one of his feet, watching it curiously as it rolled past him and stopped at Haru's feet. Haru just stared at it, not sure if he should move. When it uncurled, its butt faced Haru and then it was over. Too late Zuko realized what it was: Pangolin-skunk.

At the same time Zuko realized what it was, Sokka shouted "Hit the deck!" They all jumped down to avoid the small creature's attack, but to Haru the damage was done. His face was green and his eyes were a little glossy from the fumes.

Zuko covered his nose with his shirt when the scent made its way to him. It was quite possibly the foulest smell in all of the Fire Nation, if not the World. Sokka stood up again and waved his hand furiously in front of him.

"Ugh! That's the worst smell ever. And I thought Katara's experiment dish with the oyster-eel smelt bad." Haru groaned and collapsed from the smell. The movement spooked the pangolin-skunk and it darted for Zuko. He dived quickly to the side and tossed a few fire punches towards the animal. It jumped up in the air, screeching at the fire and tackled Sokka.

Zuko jumped up to help him get the animal off but Sokka kept moving. He rolled on the ground like he was on fire, shouting for Zuko to scorch it.

"I can't if you don't hold still," Zuko chased after him, trying to get him to stop moving and hoping the little animal didn't choose now to set off another stink bomb. Finally Sokka sat up, hands shaking.

"Get it off _now."_ Zuko moved closer to inspect the animal attached to Sokka. It didn't look good. It was on his back, all four claws digging into his skin. The really sticky part was that the pangolin-skunk had sunk his teeth into Sokka's neck. He had his mouth locked onto Sokka and it didn't look like he would be letting go anytime soon.

"I don't think I can," Zuko was afraid to even touch the little pangolin. As it was, it was the only thing keeping Sokka from bleeding out. He moved around to face Sokka, "It's clamped onto your jugular. If I move it, we might not be able to stop the bleeding."

Sokka's eyes darted to Zuko's direction. "What are you talking about? You're a firebender! Use your Fire-mojo to cauterize the wound."

Zuko shook his head, "I can't stop bleeding from your jugular. That's your largest artery! The blood would move too fast." He paused for a moment, trying to think of something else. It was no good, there was only one thing they could do. "We need Katara's help."

Sokka groaned, "This whole trip was supposed to be to get _away_ from Katara. Isn't there anything else?"

"Any other way would end up with you dead, and if I thought Katara wanted to kill me earlier she would definitely kill me if I brought you home dead." Sokka nodded solemnly and stood up, trying not to jostle the pangolin-skunk too much. Zuko stepped closer to Haru, trying to wake him up. He grimaced at the smell. "We'll all probably smell for weeks, just by being near him."

"I wonder what he did to piss off the pangolin," Sokka wondered.

Zuko took a quick breath before resigning to pick Haru up and carrying him back. He had been hoping Haru would wake up and walk himself, maybe even a few hundred feet ahead of them. But Zuko was not so lucky and since Sokka had the pangolin on his back that meant Zuko would have to put Haru on his.

Sokka waited, with some humor across his face, while Zuko lifted a stinking Haru off the ground and started off towards the temple.

"You know, suddenly I don't feel so unlucky," Sokka stated happily as he followed Zuko.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Poor Sokka. I couldn't help but pick on him some. I just re-watched The Fortuneteller. "Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted." I know it has been awhile since I updated. You know how this goes, life and all. So as a special treat I'll be posting the next chapter too! Yawhoo! And remember, for every review, Sokka's luck will come one step closer to fortunate.**


	4. Turbulence

Katara was bent over, thigh high in the pool of warm water, trying to get pieces of flour and egg out of her hair. Aang had warmed it up to a steamy temperature before Toph and Katara had started their bath. Toph set her feet in first, getting used to the heat. Katara couldn't help but notice the brown clouds of muddy water rolling off Toph. She sighed as she settled the rest of her body in the warm water.

"You know what would make this bath even better?" Toph asked as she splashed the water with her hands.

"What's that?" Having given up on her hair, she took off her bindings and sunk into the water. She didn't feel self conscious about being naked with Toph, after all they were both girls and Toph was blind.

"Mud," Toph said simply.

Katara smiled, "You can if you want to, but wait until after I get out. The point of this bath is to get _clean._"

"There's nothing wrong with a little dirt," Toph said defensively.

"Except that it gets you _dirty._"

"Correction," Toph her finger a little to the left of Katara. "Dirt gets _you_ dirty. It makes me clean."

"Whatever you say Toph." Crashing thunder drowned out Katara's voice. Apparently, the storm had arrived. She hoped Sokka came home soon. Toph had her hands pressed against her ears and Katara noticed she looked a little pale.

"I _hate_ lightning!"

"I thought you weren't afraid of anything Toph."

She settled her hands back into the water. "I am afraid of nothing that's on the ground," she said as she raised her head in pride. "But lightning attacks from the sky. Totally different."

Katara laughed as she reached for the Fire Nation soap they had picked up along their travels. Not so surprisingly, it smelt spicy. "I don't understand why _everything_ here has to be spicy," she held the soap out for Toph to examine it. "Even their soap is spicy."

Toph just grabbed and started putting it in her hair. "I kinda like it. It's better than that girly flower stuff you usually have."

"I like that flowery stuff. That's what girls are supposed to smell like."

"Exactly! I don't want to smell all girly. I don't really want to smell like anything."

Toph finished lathering up her hair and then held out the soap for Katara. "I guess, at least you like it."

"It's not that bad. It'll just make you smell more…" she paused, taping a finger against her chin while she searched for the right adjective. Finally she settled on "Daring."

"Daring?" she asked while she lathered up her long locks of hair. It took Katara longer to wash her hair than Toph. She used to not even bother, since it was always in a tight braid, but now she couldn't keep it in a braid with all the humidity. It just frizzed up.

"Yeah, the girly stuff makes you smell dainty and fragile. Like you can't do anything for yourself. But the spicy stuff is stronger. Like you won't stand to be pushed around."

Katara pondered that for a minute while she washed her body. She liked the way Toph made that sound, not taking any crap. "I guess when you put it that way. I don't really want to smell 'dainty,' especially with everything that's going on."

"Exactly. We're warriors now so it's time we start smelling like one!" Toph smashed her hand into the water.

"Well technically, I don't think warriors take baths."

Toph stood up triumphantly and point in Katara's general direction. "I _told_ you! Baths are for dainty wusses. We need some dirt," She moved into a bending stance and pulled the dirt out of the potted plants near the wall. Katara jumped out of the water, squealing a bit, as Toph dumped the dirt over her head. The water around her began to thicken into a gritty mud bath.

Katara rolled her eyes as she rung the water from her hair. "I just got you clean," she said exasperated.

Toph smirked at her, "This is proof that you should stop trying. It's a never ending battle." She laughed, "At least I still smell good."

Katara shook her head, a small smile on her face, and turned to leave when someone burst through the door.

"Katara I need—" Zuko stopped mid-run, his jaw slack. Katara was frozen for a split second, wide-eyed, staring at him staring at her. Then time returned to normal speed and she screamed. She threw up her hands and the room filled with steam so thick she could barely see her hands.

Zuko's senses seemed to have come back as well because she could hear a stream of apologies coming from his mouth. It was too late though, the damage was done and she wanted revenge. Her eyes narrowed as she pulled the remaining bath water from the pool and pushed the huge wave at full speed towards him. The water flushed him out of the room and down the hall. She grabbed her dress and threw it on hastily, not caring that she was still wet.

Toph laughed behind her, "You know that wouldn't have happened if you had stayed in the mud."

She turned to Toph, still furious, "Why the hell didn't you tell me he was coming?"

"I didn't know. My visions all fuzzy in the water. I can't see like I normally can. Besides I can't always be watching out for everyone all the time," she shouted back.

Katara ignored her and stomped into the hallway, not finished with her revenge yet.

The whole hall was flooded. She gathered up more water as she saw Zuko dart around the corner. She chased him into one of the rooms with the extra beds. It was bigger than most of the others and had several beds lined against the wall. Aang had mentioned during the grand tour that this room was used for the smaller children who didn't want to sleep alone.

Sokka was standing by one of the beds. "What happened?" He asked.

"What happened? He walked in on my _bath_ that is what happened!" Katara shrieked as she lifted her water and pushed it down on Zuko as he tried to apologize again.

"He what?" Sokka shouted at Zuko. She saw something move on Sokka's back and then blood was spraying everywhere.

Her eyes widened. He was bleeding! Her _brother_ was bleeding! "What the hell happened?" She ran at Sokka while Zuko cursed. One look at the blood squirting out of him and Sokka collapsed. Zuko caught him and clamped his hand around Sokka's neck to stop the bleeding.

"This is what I was getting you for. A pangolin-skunk attached itself to his neck."

Katara skidded to his side, water already around her hands. Zuko started to let go of the wound when she got closer but she stopped him, "No, Leave your hand there." He simply nodded. She pushed the water through his fingers and then placed hers on top. Both their hands glowed with the water that was beginning to stain red.

After a tense moment she felt the wound close, "There," she said as she pulled away. Zuko moved his hand so she could inspect the wound and make sure it was all fixed. "Is he hurt anywhere else?" Zuko wordlessly shifted Sokka to his stomach, mindful of the few inches of water that still flooded the room thanks to her.

As she worked on her brother's back, she became aware of just how close she was to Zuko. His head was right next to hers while he watched her heal. Their knees were even touching. She could see droplets of water from his wet hair fall onto Sokka. She was aware of his breathing and his smell. Something was very off about the last part.

It seemed in her haste that she had temporarily put aside her hatred for him. Not that she had forgiven him for interrupting her bath. No, definitely not forgiven. But she supposed it was an emergency. She just wished he had come a moment later, or maybe even a moment sooner when she was still in the water.

She could feel his intense gaze on her while she worked. She didn't like being watched so closely, it made her uncomfortable.

"You smell different," Zuko commented absentmindedly. She started a little at the strange comment. Of course he had chosen _now_ to say something like that, when she was already painfully aware of how close they were.

"Yeah well, you too. In fact you just flat out stink." That seemed to silence him. _Good. I need to concentrate anyways. I can't just sit around thinking about Zuko sniffing me._ After all, she had a job to do.

As she finished up Sokka's last cut she decided now was as good as any time to finish her business with Zuko. "Zuko," she said and for the first time, managed a polite tone.

He seemed startled at first but then he responded, "yes?"

"If you ever tell anyone about what you saw," she kept up the sweet tone, focusing her eyes on Sokka. His face reddened slightly and he swallowed nervously. "I'll kill you." She met his eyes then, emphasizing the threat. He inhaled a slow breath and gave her a terse nod.

After finishing the last cut she stood up and stretched. Zuko silently lifted Sokka up and set him on one of the beds. She hadn't noticed Haru lying on the bed next to him. She moved over to the bed and pulled up water to check for wounds but when she got closer she had to step back to breathe. The smell coming off of him was so horrendous it got caught in her throat and threatened to strangle her.

"He's fine, just unconscious." Zuko said.

She nodded, glad she hadn't needed to get closer, and sat down on Sokka's bed while he started to wake up.

"What happened out there?"

"We ran into a pangolin-skunk," Zuko sat on the bed across from Sokka's.

She looked back at him. "That thing on Sokka?" He nodded. "Where is it?" She looked around but didn't see it in the room.

"I want it dead," Sokka mumbled as he sat up. As if the animal could hear him, it chose that moment to dart from under the bed and out the door.

"Well it looks like it got away," Katara said. She stood up to leave, thinking the matter was laid to rest when Sokka darted for the door.

"That thing lives over my dead body!" His feet slipped in the water and he landed on his side in the inch deep water. However, he wasted no time to get up again and chase the animal at full speed.

She stood frozen for a moment and then took after him. "Sokka! You shouldn't run like that," she shouted as she chased him down the hall. She could see the little pangolin about twenty feet ahead of her before it darted into a room. Both of them filed in after it to find Aang sitting on his bed with the animal in his arms.

"Hey look what I found!" He said as he hugged the small animal.

"Now hand it over Aang. I have a score to settle with it," Sokka sounded deadly when he said it.

Aang's eyes widened a little, "What? No, she's just a helpless animal."

"Hey, what's with all the noise down here?" Toph said as she walked in with the Duke and Teo. It was starting to feel a little cramped with all these people in Aang's small room.

"Tell that to Haru, that thing is far from helpless."

"What happened to Haru? Did he get hurt?" Teo asked as he wheeled his chair to Sokka.

"Come on Sokka, Haru is fine," she turned to Teo, "He's just unconscious." She looked back at Sokka, "Don't you think you're being a little ridiculous?"

He looked at her incredulously and lifted his bloody shirt. "You saw what that thing did to me! How could you say that?"

The Duke pulled at Sokka's shirt to get a better look, "What happened out there?"

"What happened? I'll tell you what happened. I got attacked by a dead bird, fell off a tree, was almost eaten by a plant and then that _thing_ bit me in the neck!" There was a moment of silence before everyone started laughing.

"How did you get attacked by a dead bird?" Toph asked after catching her breath.

"Look it was a very complicated process and I don't have the time to get into the _how_ just know that it happened."

"Uhh, Katara, something's wrong with her," Aang set the pangolin down on his bed. Katara moved forward to get a better look. She was breathing heavily and now that Katara could see her up close, she noticed how large her stomach was.

"She's pregnant. It looks like she's going into labor."

"Really?" Aang asked excitedly.

"Okay," Sokka declared, "We wait for her to have her babies and then we kill her. When the pups get bigger, we can eat them too."

Katara turned and leveled a look on Sokka that said he was crazy. The Duke squirmed uncomfortably and even Teo voiced his concerns for the ethics of the situation.

"Look Sokka," Toph spoke up. "I love meat as much as you do but even I have to say killing and eating a mother and her babies is a little disturbing."

He let his boomerang fall to his side, defeated. "Oh alright. I won't eat it."

Aang let out a sigh of relief and turned to the laboring pangolin-skunk. "Did you hear that Piper? You're safe now."

"You already named her?" Katara asked while she moved Piper to the floor.

Aang shrugged, "Everyone needs a name. Do you not like it?" She couldn't help feeling amused. Aang loved everything about the world. Sometimes she was surprised by how attached to everything he got, being a monk and everything. But then again, he was only twelve so she supposed it was to be expected.

She shook her head, "No, I like it. These pups are coming soon so unless you want to see the miracle of life, I suggest you leave."

Sokka's face turned a little green before he stated, "I'm out." Teo and the Duke followed him.

Toph turned while mumbling, "I wouldn't be able to see anything anyways."

Midwifeing for a pangolin-skunk was considerably easier than it had ever been for humans. First of all, Piper was only in labor for thirty minutes and second, having all those animal instincts, she already knew what to do so all there was for Katara and Aang to do was make sure there weren't any problems.

In the end, Piper became a mother of five. Aang watched each one as if it was the first, thoroughly amazed by it all. Even Katara had to admit that the strange mix of scales and fur was cute.

"We should let everyone help decide on names for them," Aang said as he pet the mother.

"We'll have to give them a few days first. They need to get a little bigger before we let the others play with them." She moved water around the newborns, cleaning the area of blood.

"Can they stay in here with me?" He asked excitedly.

Katara smiled, "I don't see why not." She rose and brushed off her legs. "I need to go start dinner before Sokka passes out again."

"Okay," he said absentmindedly, already creating a little bed with his blankets for the new family.

Katara moved down the halls, feeling better than she had all day. Aang's selfless behavior was definitely what she needed.

Unfortunately, as Katara was learning fast, nothing lasted forever. Or very long for that matter. Her peaceful demeanor was shattered as soon as she stepped into the kitchen. Zuko was standing at the counter, chopping vegetables.

"What are you doing?" She asked loudly. She could see a plucked bird on the counter next to him, waiting to be cooked.

Zuko looked up, "I'm making dinner." He had a question on his face but he didn't ask it.

"I'm the one who makes dinner!" She stomped her foot, feeling helpless. She knew she was acting childish but she couldn't help it. Zuko didn't deserve a mature response from her.

He stopped cutting vegetables and looked at her, "You were busy so I figured I'd give you a break."

"I doubt you even know how to cook. You're just a spoiled prince." She walked up and pushed him aside, cutting the vegetables herself.

He threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "You may not have royal blood but you _are_ spoiled."

Katara stopped, slowly turned; making sure her full furry was directed at him. She saw, for just an instant, the tiniest bit of fear but then his familiar steely mask quickly covered it and he returned her glare.

"What. Did. You. Say?" She said slowly, pronouncing each word carefully.

He leaned forward, "Spoiled. Brat." He said just as slowly as she had.

She screamed and pulled water out of a bucket on the floor. She threw it at him, turning it into a deadly point. He brought up fire and destroyed it right before it hit his face. He took a step back, readying himself for her next move.

"Bring it on, Sugar Queen." He taunted her.

"You are going down, jerkbender." His lips twitched at the nickname and she took advantage of the distraction. Pulling her hands closer to her body, she collected the water from the storm outside and began throwing icicles at him. He brought up a wall of fire and knocked them aside like toothpicks. He threw fireballs at her and then slid his foot across the ground, coming at her from up high and down low. She jumped and rolled forwards, causing him to step backwards. Katara came up with two razor sharp ribbons of water that slid off her arms as she crossed them in front of him. Zuko ducked quickly but not quick enough. One of the ribbons sliced across his cheek like a feather caress, just underneath his scarred eye. It might have even been mistaken for gentle if it hadn't immediately pushed blood through the thin cut. He had nearly doubled over from the back bend, but he came back up to his feet with no struggle.

Katara took a step towards the arched doorway leading to a balcony outside. Zuko moved his hand to his face and touched the stream of blood that trickled down it. His wicked smile was nothing compared to the dangerous wrath that poured from his golden eyes.

He caught both hands on fire, "You will pay for that." He came at her then with a fury that reminded her of the Spirit Oasis. He was throwing punch after punch, getting dangerously close to hitting her.

He had seemed so reserved for so long that she had almost forgotten what it was like to fight with him. It was exhilarating. Her blood pumping pure adrenaline. She felt herself smile as the two of them settled back into old habits. Fighting Zuko made her feel alive again.

She quickly gathered more water while dodging his attacks and was acutely aware of the lightning storm happening outside. She turned and brought all the water in front of her to catch the new fireballs he had thrown. Then she split the big bubble of water into two thin streams and began twisting and whipping them around him. He parried and ducked the whips as they got close to him. She started back towards the kitchen when he brought up whips of his own and whipped them across the air horizontally. She had backed up against the counter and knew she didn't have enough water to stop all the flames.

Katara jumped while bringing water under her feet to push her over the counter top. She had just barely cleared the counter when his flames grazed the tops, burning all the cut and uncut vegetables. Rolling to her feet, she brought the water around his feet up into icicles that criss-crossed over and around his ankles. He tried to move back and fell on his butt. She leaped back over the counter and charged at him, fists covered in ice.

Zuko kicked off the ground, breaking his bondage, and did a back flip. Fire flew from his feet, getting just inches from her face when she felt a third person attack her. He threw his body into her side and moved her away from the flame just in time. She saw Zuko stand normally, no longer in his fighting stance. Sokka stood up and moved in between the two angry benders.

"I told you to fix things with her, not attack her!" Sokka shouted at him. Katara stood up and brushed off her skirt. She pulled a high wave of water up and pushed Sokka back into the kitchen area.

"Stay out of this Sokka," she rushed Zuko as soon as Sokka was out of the way. She threw her body into his and they both rolled out onto the balcony. He kicked her off of him and stood up. Rain fell all around them and the sky flashed with more lightning. The scene was almost poetic, with the world around seeming as chaotic as how she felt inside.

She dropped her bending and came at Zuko with nothing but her fists. They took turns, both trying to hit the other, both being blocked. There was a time when he would have beaten her, maybe even easily. But a lot had changed since the last time they had fought. He was stronger than her, still, but she was smaller and had learned how to use that to her advantage.

She could move her body around his quicker and caused him to almost lose his balance a few times, but he could use his strength to push her down. She moved to punch him and he would grab her hand and twist her body around. She'd bend her elbow and swing around, almost catching him in the jaw with her other fist but he would block and go for the stomach.

It continued this way until they were both panting heavily. Just when she thought she could go on no further, she thought this was it, her final defeat; a forceful gust of wind followed by an angry, shouting Avatar knocked them both on the floor. The wind was strong enough to cause them to roll a few feet before they stopped. Zuko had wrapped his arm around her as they rolled, protecting her head from hitting the ground. He quickly moved off of her when they stopped and collapsed next to her.

She didn't know what to think about the protective move Zuko seemed to have done without even thinking about it, like it was second nature for him. She was too tired to think of anything but how to breathe so she just dropped it. _Another day_, she thought.

She could feel the rain fall on her face, cold against her warm skin. Her dress was soaked through completely now. She lifted her head to see Zuko next to her. He was in the same sorry mess she was, exhausted and drenched. They barely had the strength to sit up after all that.

She smiled, unable to stop herself and laughed a little. _All that work for nothing_. Both of them had dished out their best, and neither of them got the victory. Zuko was confused at first by her laughter but then he resigned to chuckling with her, probably realizing the same thing.

"You think this is funny?" Aang shouted, bringing them back to the current situation. They both sobered up immediately.

"I told you she was going to lose it," Toph mentioned behind Aang.

"I think he lost it too," Sokka said.

"Aang, I-" Katara started but Zuko interrupted her.

"It's my-"

"No!" Aang blew more air over both of them, blowing away all the rain for a moment. "How am I supposed to bring peace to the world if I can't even keep peace between my two teachers?" He didn't let them answer before he continued. He looked close to tears, which broke Katara's heart before his next words sliced it apart. "I expected more of you Katara. I told you I trusted Zuko, that should have been enough for you but you continue to hate him!"

Her eyes swelled with tears as she saw his disappointment. Disappointment in _her._ Aang had never looked at her that way before. "Aang I- I'm sorry."

"No Aang, it's my fault," Zuko said as he got up to his feet. "I was taunting her."

Aang looked between Zuko and Katara, glaring at both of them. Then he sighed and his face softened. "Okay, no more though, kay?"

They both nodded. Aang smiled, appeased, and walked back into the kitchen. Zuko moved to help Katara up but she jumped up before he had the chance and followed Aang.

"So, uh, what's for dinner?" Aang asked as he looked around at all the charred food.

Zuko brought his hand up to his head, "Sorry, that was my fault."

Sokka was holding the squirrel-parrot in his hand, "Only a part of this got burnt, maybe we can still eat the rest?"

Zuko examined it, "Yeah I can cook this. It won't be a lot but it will feed us until tomorrow."

"I'm just as able to cook that as you are," Katara argued, still not ready to relinquish her responsibilities. Zuko rolled his eyes and was about to argue with her further when Sokka interrupted him.

"We all know you're a great cook Katara," she wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a hint of sarcasm in his compliment. "But Toph and I have something better for you to do."

She hesitated for a moment before giving in, "Oh alright. What is it?"She figured it didn't really matter who cooked, as long as she was busy.

They dragged her over to the table and pushed her to sit down. Sokka and Toph stood on either side of her with the same satisfied grin on their faces. Teo, the Duke, and Aang gathered around the table to see what was going on. She noticed Haru wasn't here and supposed he was still knocked out.

"Okay so I know I haven't been the best of brothers to you as of late," Sokka said as he settled down next to her. "I wanted to make you feel better so I asked Toph to help me with a little project."

Taking that as her queue, Toph stood up and moved into a bending stance. The rock table shifted, separating two sides to reveal a hidden compartment underneath. She moved the compartment up to fill in the hole and then the table look exactly the same as it had a moment ago, only this time with a small addition. In the middle of the table now stood a cloth covering something big.

Sokka moved the fabric away dramatically with a loud, "Ta da!" and revealed a very large and splotchy pot. "We fixed your pot!"

"Well actually, I did the fixing, Sokka just brought me the idea," Toph said triumphantly. Katara pulled it closer to get a better look. She recognized part of it to be the pot Sokka had destroyed. She could see the black stains the fire had given it, but now it was several colors and twice the size it had been. The colors went from the burnt black to a rough, metallic silver, to a yellow gold.

"How did you get it so many colors," Katara asked quietly, in awe of her new present. She felt her face soften and her eyes start to water. It was beautiful, better now than it had ever been.

"I had to use extra metal to make up for the parts Sokka blew up," Toph explained.

"Yeah and I thought since it was going to be different anyways, we might as well make it bigger."

She wiped a tear from her face, trying not to cry, and smiled at both of them, "Thank you." She set the pot down and pulled them both into a hug.

"You should thank Zuko, too," Toph said as she pulled away. "He helped find the extra metal."

That surprised Katara. She couldn't imagine Zuko as the kind of guy that would spend time on a project like this for someone else. She looked behind her to the fire pit, where Zuko stood over their dinner. His eyes came up and briefly met hers. He smiled, so small she wasn't sure she had seen it at first. She smiled back. The same, small, unnoticeable smile and he looked back at the fire. She knew she wouldn't have to say any more to him, knew that he wouldn't hang this over her head or throw it back at her. In that small exchange, everything that had needed to be said was said and that would be the end of it. At that moment she also realized she didn't know him as well as she thought.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finally! Now there is a little bit of understanding on both sides. In the next chapter or so we'll get to see the pangolin-skunk pups. As mentioned in the story, there are five little babies and they need names. As a special treat to my readers, you guys get to name them! So send in what you want their names to be.**

** By the way, if you don't know what a pangolin looks like, I seriously suggest looking it up. They are the cutest (and strangest) little mammal I have ever seen. **


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